Brother of Rams star WR arrested for allegedly stealing Adou Thiero's car

In today’s edition of That Headline Must Be A Mad Lib, we head over to a story out of Los Angeles, where a former Kentucky men’s basketball player allegedly had his car stolen by the brother of one of the top young wide receivers in the NFL.

That former Wildcat was Adou Thiero, currently a rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers. And that brother would be Samson Nacua, the older sibling of Puka Nacua, who is in his third season as a star pass-catcher for the Los Angeles Rams.

According to a report by NBC Los Angeles, Samson Nacua, along with one other individual, allegedly stole Thiero’s SUV (a newer-model BMW) without his consent. The two were arrested over the weekend after Thiero’s vehicle was tracked to a hotel called One Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. What makes this story even stranger is that Nacua and Trey Rose (the other suspect in this alleged crime) decided to take Thiero’s SUV to the One Hotel, where they apparently had it valeted. Local deputies reviewed security footage, leading them to identify Nacua and Rose and later arrest them.

Nacua and Rose, both 27 years old, are currently behind bars and face being charged with taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Two men, including the brother of Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, were arrested over the weekend after allegedly taking Los Angeles Lakers forward Adou Thiero’s SUV without his consent, LASD exclusively told NBC4 Investigates.https://t.co/Xl1utclJs5

— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) December 18, 2025

I’m sure you have a million questions after reading that — we all do. First of all, why was Thiero the target of this crime? Why did the thieves decide to VALET a stolen car in the same city they stole it from? What was the goal of this entire operation? All excellent questions, but ones that likely don’t come with intelligent answers.

Members of the Nacua family have recently been in the news for Puka’s actions earlier in the week, but now Samson is trying to steal (no pun intended) the headlines. Puka is in the midst of a good season with the Rams (1,367 receiving yards, six touchdowns). Samson, meanwhile, went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and most recently played for the Michigan Panthers in the USFL this season. In April, Samson was spotted smacking a fan in the crowd following a game. In light of his arrest, something tells me he might not be taking the field again anytime soon.

As for Thiero, the 21-year-old has been a deep bench piece so far this season for the Lakers. The 36th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, he’s appeared in nine games this season, averaging 1.1 points in 5.8 minutes per contest. Thiero played two seasons at Kentucky to begin his career before following John Calipari to Arkansas in 2024-25, where he blossomed into someone who averaged 15.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per outing.

Let’s just hope his car was returned in one piece.